


Sunset's Glow

by Shujinkakusama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Companions, F/F, Gen, Light Angst, Post-Series, not very romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 19:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8026063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: Jasper watches the sun set from the porch. Pearl joins her. // Jaspearl if you squint. Post-series.





	Sunset's Glow

The beach wasn’t exactly Jasper’s favorite place to live.

 

Perhaps another beach, one that wasn’t so familiar, one she hadn’t nearly conquered, only for her ship to crash and burn short hours later. She understood hours now. A short measurement of time used on Earth, by humans, but appropriate enough. She didn’t know what fraction of a cycle had passed before they crashed.

 

Jasper stared out at the beach impassively, gripping the porch railing with the careful kind of half-strength she’d learned to employ on Earth. Earth’s structures were fragile and brittle, like the humans that lived here, made of worthless resources like _wood_ and things humans came up with over the eons. What she remembered—however brief—from her time during the war had seemed steadier. Sturdier.

 

That she was in the same proverbial boat didn’t help.

 

Jasper sighed audibly. She was used to breathing. It was a natural response to being on an oxygen-rich planet. The organs she didn’t actually need relished in it. It was her home, after all; she’d been grown here.

 

And here she was, back on this accursed planet. Trapped, for all intents and purposes.

 

The sunset was beautiful, but the view churned her stomach; made her queasy, and she certainly hadn’t felt anything like that back on Homeworld. That feeling was reserved for this planet.

 

“Are you alright?” Pearl asked softly, and Jasper wondered when her guard had dropped so dangerously low that a mere pearl could sneak up on her. Not that she wasn’t light on her feet, but…

 

“Lost in thought,” Jasper replied gruffly, turning her sharp gaze back toward the setting sun. The brightness stung her eyes, but just barely. Still, the Earth’s star was orange over the ocean as it sank below the horizon, and the fiery colors that stained the sky matched her stripes to a T. The big quartz soldier shook her head. “Your planet’s too small. I don’t know how you can stand it.”

 

Pearl’s twinkling laughter wasn’t mocking, not like the runty amethyst’s would have been. The much smaller Gem leaned forward, folding her arms on the railing, too close to Jasper’s hand for her comfort. Pearl was cool, and even without direct contact, the comparative chill radiating off of her made Jasper’s hair bristle slightly. She watched her former adversary, waiting for a response, because _giggles_ were certainly not appropriate.

 

When Pearl looked up at her it was with an expression so serene that Jasper could hardly stand it. “I don’t know how you can stand bigger ones,” she half-teased, “There’s enough on this planet to enjoy for thousands of years—and it’s always changing and growing. I can’t even keep up with it all. And you’d want to keep track of _more_?”

 

“I never signed up to take care of an entire planet,” Jasper pointed out, “I’m a soldier, not… whatever you Crystal Gems think you are.”

 

Pearl hummed thoughtfully. “Garnet and I used to be soldiers, too,” she murmured, “Even if we weren’t designed for it like you and Amethyst were. And Rose.” It was easy to forget that Rose Quartz was just as much a soldier, made to fight and kill, as Jasper was. “It’s not quite the same, fighting monsters, but…”

 

Pearl’s voice trailed off, and Jasper caught her gaze just before it dropped. She said nothing for several long moments, and then, with some trepidation, reached out and settled her hand over Pearl’s shoulders, completely spanning her back without much effort.

 

“You weren’t exactly soldiers,” she said, and maybe in another lifetime, it would have been a comfort. Pearl’s eyes met Jasper’s, wild and passionate and _angry_ , and Jasper withdrew her hand. “I meant—soldiers, they’re _organized_. It’s different. You Crystal Gems had your own agendas. It wasn’t like fighting a normal army.”

 

“Was it meant to be complimentary?” Pearl asked flatly, raising an eyebrow in question.

 

Jasper shrugged. “Well… yes. And no. I would rather fight a real army than you rebels, but that’s because you… you know. You fought differently. Every one of you was ready to die like you _expected_ it. You fight like you’re wild animals.”

 

“I’m not hearing a positive anywhere in that statement.”

 

“It’s not an insult,” Jasper insisted, turning her attention back to the sunset. “You fight good. You still do.”

 

Pearl paused, said nothing for long moments, then sighed. “You fight well for someone who doesn’t have the urgency the rest of us do,” she said softly, earning a critical look. Pearl didn’t bother meeting Jasper’s gaze. “That is… you don’t need it. You’re stronger than any of us individually. But you still seem to do your best on every mission.”

 

“Isn’t that the point of being part of a team?”

 

If Pearl had looked up, she might have seen more than the glow of the sun’s dying rays lighting up Jasper’s cheeks. But for the sake of her teammate’s pride, she didn’t. Instead, she reached over and settled her too-small hand over Jasper’s knuckles, utterly dwarfed by the quartz’s size. She gave what she could of her companion’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

 

“You could say that.”


End file.
